Correctional Officers roll up their sleeves for blood drive

Sep 08, 2022

MGEU Correctional Officers have teamed up with Canadian Blood Services (CBS) to give the gift of life in the union’s first-ever Corrections Blood Drive.

On Monday the Blood Drive began, with appointments reserved for Correctional Officers throughout the week at the Winnipeg donation site. Today several officers were on hand, along with MGEU President, Kyle Ross, to roll up their sleeves and donate as a group. The Blood Drive runs until September 10 in Winnipeg and continues in Brandon at a mobile clinic on October 13, where officers in Westman will also be able to roll up their sleeves.

Corrections Component Director, James Alexander, said members of the Executive had been discussing different ways for their group to give back to the community for a little while when the idea of a blood drive came up.

“It made perfect sense to us. We all know that the need for blood in our province has never been greater. And we’re a fairly large group with members throughout the province. Some of our members are already regular donors, so this was really a chance to help on an even bigger scale.”

MGEU President, Kyle Ross, says the event shows a more personal side to correctional officers, while also providing a unique opportunity for them to give back to their community.

“Every day, officers are keeping Manitobans safe and are helping to change people’s lives for the better. It’s a tough, challenging job, but something I’ve learned being around correctional officers is that they are very giving people,” he said. “Hosting this blood drive shows just how much they care about their fellow Manitobans and I was proud to sit next to a few today as we donated together.”

With only one in 81 eligible Canadians currently donating blood, Brett Lawrence, Community Development Manager at Canadian Blood Services says that support from groups like correctional officers is critical right now to ensuring Canadian patients have access to the blood products they need.

“On behalf of Canadian Blood Services, I would like to thank MGEU and the correctional officers involved for their contribution to Canada’s Lifeline this month,” said Lawrence. “Patients in Canada need organizations to show up and give like lives depend on it, because they do. MGEU members have done just that, by donating blood for patients in need.”

To book a donation to give blood, visit Blood.ca/en.

To learn more about the important work of Manitoba’s Correctional Officers, visit MoreThanAUniform.ca.

#CorrectionsGives

Return to Article List